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HON. MORTON S. WILKINSON, 



OF MINNESOTA. 



THE CONSTITUTION A8 IT IS: 



DELIVKUED 



IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, MARCH 2, 1861 




WASHINGTON: 

1861. 



.5" 

• V/6 9 



NO SURRENDER OF PRINCIPLES. 



The Skcretarv read ihi; following nmcndninnt 
asasubsiiiiittjforfloase joint resolution No. 80, to 
strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert: 

That Ihf followinR articles be, mid are lioreby, [in(|)Ofi>il 
luid HUbinitttuI a:* niiioiidiniMits to the Constitution ol" the 
United States, which shall he valid to all intents and pur- 
poses as part ol'said (.'onstitution, whi'u ratilii'd liy conven- 
tions of three fourths of the several Stales : 
Articlk I. 

In all the territory of the Hnlted States now held orhere- 
al'ler acijuired, situate north of latitude STi' DO', slavery or 
involuntary servitude, except as a punislnrii-iit for crime. Is 
prohihited, while such territory shall remain under territo- 
rial government. In all the territory now held or hereafter 
acquired, south of .«ald line of latitude, slavery of the Afri- 
can race is hereby recognized as existinjr, and shall not he j 
intcrlered witli by Congress ; but .-hall be protected as prop- 
erty by all the departments of the territorial government ! 
during Its continuance ; and when any 'I'erritory, north or j 
south of said line, within such boundaries as Congress may I 
prescribe, shall contain the population requisite for a mem- 
ber of Consiressjaccordini; to the then Federal ratio of rep- [ 
resentation of the people of the United Stales, It shall, if its 
form of government be republican, be admitted into the 
Union on an equal footina with the original States, with or 
without slavery, as the constitution of sucli new State may 
provide. 

.\KriiLK II. 

Congress ^llall have no power to abolish slavery in places ; 

under its exclusive jurisdiction and situate within the limits ' 

of Sutcs that |iermit the holding of slaves. '■ 

Articlk HI. i 

Congress shall have no power to abolish slavery within 
the District of Columbi.i so long as it evists iu the adjoin- ; 
ing States of Virijinia and Maryland, or either, nor with- I 
out the consent of the inhabitants, nor without just coin- ; 
pensation tirst made to such owners of slaves as do not 
consent to such abolisliment. N'or shall Congress at any ! 
time prohibit olhcers of the Federal (Jovcrnment. or mem- \ 
bcrs of Congress, whosi; duties recjuire ihcm to be in said 
District, from bringing with them their slaves, and holding 
them a-s such, during the lime their dniies may require 
iJiem to remain there, and afterwards taking them from the 
District. 

.Vrtici.k IV. 

Congress shall have no power to prohibit, or liiiider the 
mnisportation of slaves from one State to another, or to a 
Territory in which slaves arc by law permitted to be held, ; 
whether that transportation be by land, navigable rivers, or 
by lUe sea. Hut the African slavi' trade shall be forever 
snppresscd, and it <linll be the duty of Congress lo make 



such laws as shall be iieceHsary and etTectual. to prevent 
the migration or importation of slaves, or persons owing 
service or labor, into the United t^tatea from any foreign 
country, pl.ice, or jurisdiction whatever. 

Sk<'. 'J. That persons committing crimes against the rights 
of those who hold persons to servii-e or labor iu one State, 
and Heeing to another, shall be delivered up in the sauie 
manner as persuus conunilting other crimes ; and that Uie 
laws of the States from which such persons llee shall be 
the test of crlniliinlity. 

Sec. 3. Congress shall pa-s ellieleiu laws for the punish- 
ment of all persons In any of the Stales, who shall in any 
manner aid and abet invasion or insurrection iu any otiier 
State, or commit any other act tcniling to disturb tlie tran- 
quillity of its people, or govermnenl of any other State. 
-Article V. 
That, in addition to the provisions of the third paragraph 
of the second section of the fourlh articli' of the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, Congress shall have power to 
provide by law, and It shall be its duty so to provide, that 
the United States shall pay to the owner who shall apply 
for it, tlie full value of his fugitive slave, in all eases when 
the marshal, or other otticer, whose duty it was to arrest 
said fugitive, was prevented from so doing by violence or 
intimidation, or when, alter arrest, said fugitive was res- 
cued by force, and the owner thereby prevcnti-d and ob- 
structed in the pursuit of his remedy for the rccoxcry of his 
fugitive slave, under tJie said clause of the Constitution and 
the laws made iu pursuance thereof. .\iul iu all such cases, 
when the United States shall pay for such fugitive, they shall 
have the power to reimburse themselves by imposing and 
collectingata.x on the county or city iu which said violence, 
Intimidation, or rescue was committed, e(|ual in amount to 
the sum paid by thiiii, witli tin- adililion of interest and the 
costs of collection ; and the said couutj or city, alter il has 
paid said amount to the United States, may, lor its indem- 
I nity, sue and recover from the wrongdoers or res<-uers, by 
whom the owner was prevented from the recovery of his 
fugitive slave, in like manner as the owner himself might 
I have sued and recovered. 
I .Articlk VI. 

■ No future amendment of the (Auistitution sliall atlecithe 
! live preceding articles, nor the third paragraph of tlu' second 
' section of the first article of th'' Constitution, nor the third 
paragraph of the second section of the fourth article of said 
Consiitntlon ; and no amendment 9hall be made to the Con- 
stitution which will auiliori/<' or give to Congress any 
power to abolish or interfere with slaver> in any of tlie 
Stales by whose laws it is or may be allowed or permitted. 

.Articlk V'II. 

Skc. 1. Tlie elective franchise anil the right to liold office, 



whether Federal, State, territoriiil, or municipal, shall not 
be exercised by persons uiio are, in whole or in part, of the 
African race. 

Mr. WILKINSON. I understand the question 
to be upon tlie adoption of the amendment just 
read, which is the proposition of the Senator from 
Kentucky, as a substitute for the House resolu- 
tion .' 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. (Mr. Foot, in 
the chair.) That is the question now before the 
Senate. 

Mr. WILKINSON. Mr. President, unlike the 
Senator from Oregon, I shall neither vote- for the 
substitute, nor for the original proposition. The 
course which events have taken since the late 
presidential election is so new and strange to the 
people of the United States, so startling to the 
public mind, that the friends of the Constitution 
and the laws are fast arraying themselves to- 
gether to uphold the institutions of our country, 
while its enemies are fast becoming consolidated 
for the purposes of its destruction. With the 
Federal Goveriunent in their hands, with the Army 
and the Navy under their control, with the Presi- 
dent subject entirely to their will, with all- the 
Federal patronage in their hands, with the Su- 
preme Court ever ready to decide all questions of 
constitutional law in accordance with their views, 
with the Senate under their control, with a ma- 
jority iii the other end of this Capitol — thus in 
power and authority, in every branch and depart- 
ment of the Federal Government, its enemies, at 
the commencement of this session, deliberately 
proposed the overthrow and ruin of this Govern- 
ment, simply because the people of the United 
States, in strict conformity with the Constitution 
and the laws, elected Abraham Lincoln Presi- 
dent; for it is beyond all question, if Mr. Breck- 
inridge had been elected, there would have been 
no threats of dissolution, of disunion, of seces- 
sion , such as now fill the air. With no complaints 
against the Federal Government for grievances 
which cannot be redressed under the Constitution 
as it is, suffering no wrongs for which that in- 
strument does not provide the most ample remedy, 
these men, the enemies of this Union, the ene- 
mies of our Constitution, jiropose its overthrow I 
and its ruin, because the Treasury of the Govern- , 
ment is about to pass out of the hands of those I 
who have despoiled it, and into the possession of 1 
those whom the people have selected to guard and 
protect it. i 

I will not allude to the subterfuges behind which . 



j the enemies of our Government seek to shield 
themselves, nor shall I refer to tiic miserable 
excuses which they offer for the monstrous crime 
of the destruction of this Government. Stripped 
I of all disguises and unworthy evasions, let it be 
known, now and forever, in this Senate Chamber 
and throughout the civilized world, that the sole 
and only reason for which it is proposed to de- 
stroy this Government is, that a false, faithless, 
and corrupt Adnainislration has been driven from 
power by the authority and majesty of the sov- 
ereign people, whose right it is to rule this nation. 

Sir, what is the record which that party has left 
for the study of the people of this country .' Com- 
ing into power with an overflowing Treasury, in 
four short years it brings bankruptcy upon this 
nation. Its chief financial agent, after having 
brought disgrace and ruin upon the land, after 
having brought bankruptcy upon this nation, 
seeks to shield himself from the indignation of an 
outraged people by taking refuge beneath the black 
ban ner of treason . The Secretary of War, charged 
by his oath of office with the management of the 
military affairs of the proudest nation on earth, 
instead of conducting those affairs for the protec- 
tion of the people of this great nation, employs 
the power thus confided for the purpose of enrich- 
ing himself and corrupt party favorites, turns the 
military power of this country into the hands of 
its enemies, despoils, by illegal, corrupt, and 
fraudulent acts of his, the people's Treasury, and 
refuses protection, in the hour of peril, to the 
country's truest and most noble defender. He, 
too, after having blackened his own charac_ter; 
after having blackened the reputation of his own 
country, and after having defamed, in the name 
of his own State, the home of Washington, he, 
too, to shield himself from the indignation of an 
outraged people, takes refuge beneath the same 
black banner of treason. 

The Secretary of the Interior, charged by his 
oath of office with the management of the internal 
affairs of this great nation, sworn to support the 
Constitution and the laws, while thus acting un- 
der that oath, goes forth upon a mission to devise 
ways and means to provide for the dissolution of 
that very Union which he was sworn to support; 
and while thus acting in violation of his oath, his« 
own Department is being robbed of a marvelous 
amount by an especial and confidential agent and 
friend, himself a secessionist, who thought it was 
necessary ^to protect himself with his southern 
friends by publicly declaring in a city paper that 



he would not hold office under a black Republi- 
can President. Why, sir, this action of the Sec- 
retary of the Interior is so strangely inconsistent, 
so violative of his oath of office, so criminally 
violative of every principle of right, so much in 
utter disregard of his own oath, that his own 
friends are shocked and di.sgusted at his transac- 
tions. 

It was against this Administration, with which 
these men were connected, that the people last 
fall rendered their verdict; and now we are asked 
to apologize for that decision; we are asked to 
apologize for hurling such men from power; we 
are asked to apologize for turning out the vam- 
pires who have preyed upon tiie Treasury of this 
country. Was ever crime mop' bold, audacity 
piore defiant, or treason more daring than tliis? 

Mr. President, when I came to the capital at 
the commencement of this session, it was my hope 
that, through calm and* conciliatory action, the 
clouds that seemed to " lower upon our house" 
might break away, and leave the clear, bright sun 
of peace to shine upon us once more. It was my 
hope that in the action of the people which had 
just taken place, in the decision at the polls in last 
November, the defeated would have acquiesced, 
as it has been our part to have yielded in the past. 
But, sir, in this my hopes have been mistaken. 
The course which the debate look in the early 
part of this session had a tendency to lead to any- 
thing but good or profitable results. On this side 
of the Chamber we were immediately met by vio- 
lent and inflammatory harangue.-^, by bitter invec- 
tives and personal abuse thrown to us from the 
other side of the Chamber, until it became »]1- 
parent to every man of common observation that 
nothing like conciliatory action could be had here. 
For neither individuals nor communities are likely 
to be driven from the support of their principles 
and their convictions through the agency of 
threats and denunciations. 

Why, sir, we were told by gentlemen from that 
side, who had upheld this Administration, all 
reeking with fraud and villainy as it was, that we 
were chargeable with the destruction of this Gov- 
ernment. We were told, in the early part of this 
session, that we must surrender our principles; 
we must lay down our convictions; we must cease 
to talk about the question of personal liberty or 
of personal right; or else, they told us, this Union 
would be broken up forever. Well, sir, in making 
these unreasonable demands, in giving utterance 
to these violent and abusive threats, the people of 



the South have acted under a fatal mistake. . 
know that heretofore the people of the South have 
looked upon the northern people as craven. I 
know they have considered them cowardly. I 
am well aware they have regarded them as being 
powerless beneath the crushing weight of the 
moneyed influence of the country; and in this our 
neighbors have had too great reason for so believ- 
ing. I know that heretofore, whenever threats 
like these have been uttered by the South, her 
people have regarded the trading interests of the 
East, and the commercial men of our northern 
cities, as their natural allies, ever ready to bow 
down at the bidding of the South, and to surren- 
der to any demand which might be made of them. 
I know well that heretofore this trading, moneyed 
influence of the North has exerted a mighty power 
in controlling even the political action of the 
country; but here the South has made one great 
mistake. Since the compromise of ten years 
ago, the last of the compromises, a great West 
has sprung up, full grown and powerful, which 
sends my friend from Michigan [Mr. Chandler] 
and others here, who have a little more backbone 
and a little more nerve, I apprehend, than some 
of our eastern Republicans; and here is where our 
southern friends made a little mistake. 

But, sir, what was their demand? What was 
their claim .' The Senator from Georgia [Mr. 
IvERSoy] said: " You must give up to us the Ter- 
ritories of this whole country; we will carry our 
slaves into all the Territories of this nation, or we 
will destroy this Union; we will have that right 
in the Union, if we can get it; out of the Union, 
if we cannot." Now, sir, we had just decided 
that question. This extraordinary demand came 
to us within four weeks from the lime that the 
people of this great country had, by their solemn 
and overwhelming verdict, declared that they 
would not do any such thing. If I understand 
the position which those gentlemen took, it was 
this: " Surrender your convictions, you people of 
the North; you craven Black Republicans, lay 
down your political convictions; give them all up^; 
give us all the Territories of this country, and let 
this nation be a pro-slavery nation, and we will 
condescend to remain in this Un'ion." I will let 
some of my friends from the East and from the 
commercial seaports answer for themselves; but, 
Mr. President, the people of the Northwest plant 
themselves upon the verdict of the 6th of Novem- 
ber last; and I, for one, declare here that I shall 
vote for no proposition whatever which recedes 



6 



,,.e inch from that verdict. I have no right, as a 
representative ofthe people, to barter offor to traffic 
away that decision, and I say plainly I never will 

do it. 

But we are told that we must make concessions 
to the South, or they will go out. Now, sir, let 
us look at this question for a moment . What have 
we to concede?. What have we got, jjoor Black 
Republicans, as they call us, to concede ? What 
have we ever had in this country ? When did we 
ever have the power ? When did we ever make a 
law in the United States r When have we ever 
taken a single tithe or a jot or a tittle from your 
rio-hts ? When did we ever take one tittle from 
your constitutional liberty or your constitutional 
rights.' Never! never! for we never had the | 
power to do it. [ 

Let us look at the history of this question for 1 
one moment. I intend to be brief. In 1850, you ] 
said that the country was in danger; the Consti- 
tution was in danger; the Union was in danger. 
And why ? Because the people of the North 
claimed that the Wilmot proviso should be ap- 
plied to all the Territories which had been acquired 
from Mexico. There was a good deal of strife 
about it; and Mr. Clay— a very great man, whose 
memory I adore to-day — came forward to settle 
this question. How did he propose to .settle it.' 
In the first part of the session of Congress of that 
year, he olTered a series of resolutions, and after- 
wards proposed a series of bills which carried out 
the theory of the resolutions he had introduced. 
Here are two of those resolutions : 

'^Resolved, That California, witli suitable boundaries, 
ought, upon her application, to ba admitted as one of the 
States of the Union, witliout the imposition by Congress of 
any restriction in respect f^ the exclusion or introduction 
of slavery witiiin those boundaries. 

^^ Resolved, That as slavery does not exist by law, and is 
not likely to be introduced into any of the territory acquired 
by the United States from the Republic of Mexico, it is 
inexpedient for Congress to provide by law either for its 
introduction into, or exclusion from, any part of the said 
territory ; and that appropriate territorial governments ought 
to be established by Congress in all of the said territory 
not assigned as the boundaries of the proposed I^tate of 
California, without the adoption of any restrictiou or con- 
dition on the subject of slavery." 

That was the principle introduced here by the 
great Henry Clay. What was that pi-inciple? 
My friend from Illinois [Mr. Douglas] says that 
was tlie great doctrine of non-intervention; and 
so it was. I know they were a series of proposi- 
tions which the North did not like very well, be- 
cause there were some propositions among them, 



to which I shall not allude, which shocked the 
sense of the northern people, and which they 
turned from with di.sgust and contempt. ButMr. 
Fillmore cameinasPresidentof theUnited States, 
and threw the whole force of his administration 
in favor ofthe compromises of Henry Clay; and 
the people ofthe North surrendered their private 
convictions and their private feelings, and sus- 
tained that compromise. What followed.' In a 
very short time, some two or three years, my 
friend from Illinois started up here and proposed 
to tear down the compromise of 1820, because it 
was in violation of the principles ofthe compro- 
mise of 1850, introduced here by Henry Clay. 

The Senator from Tennessee [Mr. Nicholson] 
stated in his speech, some time since, that the first 
fatal stab which was made at this Union, and to 
the peace of the country, was when the Repub- 
lican party met in Philadelphia, m 1856; and the 
Senator from Illinois [Mr. Douglas] says that 
the whole source of all this difficulty is the agita- 
tion on the part of the anti-slavery men of the 
North. Now, Mr. President, I think these gen- 
tlemen must go a little further back in the history 
of events, if they will find the true cause of all 
this difficulty and of all this estrangement of feel- 
in''-. When the gentlemen from the South, fol- 
lowing the lead ofthe Senator from Illinois, pro- 
posed to tear down the time-honored compromise 
of 1820, that barrier against the aggressions of 
slavery on this continent, in a time of profound 
and undisturbed peace, they threw open the flood- 
gates which let in this angry tide of sectional 
strifeandof fiery controversy which now threatens 
to destroy this Union. 

Now, sir, after having torn down one compro- 
mise, because it was inconsistent with the com- 
promise of 1850, the Senator from Kentucky and 
others come to us and ask us now to tear down 
this other compromise, in order that they may es- 
tablish slavery byirrepealable constitutional law, 
in all that Territory. If I were asked merely to 
restore the original Missouri compromise, as it 
stood without any amendment, without any addi- 
tions or qualifications, I do not know but I would 
be willing to do it; but when I am asked by the 
Senator from Kentucky, or any other man, to do 
what Henry Clay declared there was no earthly 
power could compel him to do, when lam asked to 
tear down another compromise for the purpose of 
establishing — by irrepealable law — slavery upon 
a vast Territory, I say plainly, here in the Senate 
Chamber, and to the country, I will never do it; 



never! never! never! Let me read what Henry i 
Clay said then on that subject; for it is better than 
anything I can say: 

" I owe it to myself, [ owe it to truth, I owe It to ilie 
fubjeot, to state, that no earthly power could Indiioe me to 
vole for a specific measure for the introduction of shivery 
where it had not before existed, either -south or nortli of 
that line." 

Now, sir, how do tliey propose to get around 
this? They say it exists there, in this very Ter- 
ritory, concerning which Mr. Clay was tln-n 
speaking. How does it exist llicre ? By the very 
compromise wiiich was introduced in 1850, whicii 
leaves the people there free to pass a law, or to 
repeal a law," and now that they have passed a 
law, we are asked here to come forward, and by 
con.siitutional enactment, declare that that law 
shall never be repealed. And what is it.' Why, 
sir, the most barbarous enactment that ever was 
passed upon the face of the earth; a law which 
outrages all our ideas of humanity; a law which 
eiKibles a sherilV to catch up a negro anywhere, 
put him in jail, and sell him into perjietual slavery 
if nobody claims him; a law which I say out- 
rages the moral sense of humanity all over the 
world, and we are asked to fix this,v<rt/i(s, as they 
call it, of slavery. Why, sir, let my Republican 
friends who are afraid, vote for it. I will not. 

AJr. President, the excuses which have been 
made, particulariy here in this Senate Chainber, 
and throughout the country, for the destruction 
of the Government, I apprehend, are not the real 
reasons which govern the actions of those who : 
arc engaged in the destruction of the Govern- 
ment. Governor Wise, perhaps less prudent 
and more honest than many of liis co-conspira- 
tors, has stated, mi a letter which he wrote some 
time since, one of the causes for the proposed 
disruption of this Government. " Remember," 
said he, " remember, too, that \vc are not only on 
the eve of the inauguration of a black power, hut 
also at the end of another decadi; this very day, 
with another apportionment, under a new census, 
which is to dwarf still more our relative repre- 
sentative strength in the Union." Sir, the peo- 
ple of the South, moving on under the ban of sla- 
very, see the onward march of freedom on this 
continent. They sec free States rising up, one 
after another. They see this great tide of free 
population stretching out from theirsea-port towns 
to the westward, crossing the great plains of the 
West, and colonizing, and making new States in 
a very short space of time. This is the reason. 

Sir, let me ask, do these gentlemen .suppose 



j that, by a disruption of this Government, they 
: can stop this emigration .- Do they suppose that 
by tearing down this great edifice, they can pre- 
vent the onward march of freedom on this conti- 
! nent. I tell them that if they suppose any such 
' thing, they are acting under a delusion — a false, 
a fatal delusion. A wise Government may accel- 
erate this great movement; it may render it more 
easy and hartnonious; but even the destruction of 
the Government it-^elf cannot stop it. It is gov- 
erned in its progress by a law higher than the 
Constitution; and no opposition which you can 
make will seriously affect its movements. 

If those who are engaged in the destruction of 
the Government suppose that their treason will 
add to the power and dominion of slavery on this 
continent, or if they are acting under the delusion 
that a dissolution of the Union will permanently 
repress the onward and triumphant march of free- 
dom, I apprehend that the sequel will disclose to 
them the important truth that they are warring 
with an element too powerful and majestic to be 
materially affected by any effort they can put 
forth. 

In this warfare you are encountering a power 
more potent than fleets or arinies, a power before 
which the proudeslconqueror is compelled to bow, 
and against W'hich no nation is powerful enough 
to contend. You have declared a war against the 
public sentiment of mankind; and in this warfare 
you are bound to be vanquished. 

Mr. President, I am well aware that the influ- 
ence which surrounds this metropolis, which per- 
vades this Chamber, and which clusters around 
the Representatives of the people in the other end 
of this Capitol, is strongly in favor of any sur- 
render, no matter how humiliating; no matter how 
degrading; no matter how violative of the princi- 
ples of liberty and justice such surrender may be, 
provided the moneyed interests of the commercial 
and trading districts of the country can be upheld 
and sustained. I know well that the tainted at- 
mosphere which surrounds us here is powerful 
in weakening the nerves and limbering the backs 
of the representatives of the people; but he who 
yields to this trading, moneyed influence of our 
cities, will go home to the pure atmosphere of the 
country to meet the frowns of a betrayed and out- 
raged constituency, who are too pure lo be bought, 
too shrewd to be betrayed, and too brave to be 
frightened into a degrading and base surrender 
of their principles. 

The young State which I have the honorinpart 



8 



to represent here, will remain in this Union, and un- 
der the Conslitution as it is, performing every duty 
which that Constitution imposes upon her, and 
ready at ail times to make all reasonable sacrifices 
to preserve the peace and prosperity of the whole 
country. But when her people are required to sur- 
render their convictions, and to renounce their po- 
litical opinions, they never will submit to any such 
degrading humiliation; no, never. I have no right 
to speak for anybody but myself, and the State I 
represent. But as for her and for myself, no 
matter what the consequences may be, we have 
taken no step from which we intend to recede. 
Standing upon the Constitution as it is, and the 
laws as they are, the people of my State are not 
willing that wrong shall be done to any Slate, or 
any portion of the people, but they demand that 
justice shall be done to all. Believing that they 
are right, the peojjle of the Northwest will adhere 
to their convictions, faithfully performing every 
obligation they are under to every portion of the 
Union. No one has a right to demand more than 
this. No one has a right to ask us to give bonds 
for our good behavior. We are ready to perform 
every constitutional obligation; we are ready to 
comply with every law and with every duly that 
is imposed upon us; but we scorn the man, or the 
party, or the power, that asks us to give security 
and guarantees for our good conduct. We have 
a right in this Government, and when we elect a 
President of the United Stales, under the Consti- 
tution and the laws, we claim, without any let, 
without any hindrance, without guarantees, ex- 
cept the Constitution of the country, that he shall 
be President of the United States. Elect your 
man, and we bow down before him and yield all 
that the Constitution gives. You have no right 
to demand anything more than this of us. 

I have taken no particular pains to inquire into 
thejustice of your complaints, in regard to the so- 
called personal liberty bills; nor am I aware that 
you have suffered any verj' great wrong from a re- 
fusal on the part of the nortliern people to comply 
with the provisions of the law for the rendition of 



011 895 821 4^ 



fugitives from labor. But I will say this, if you 
have any grievances against my State, or the peo- 
ple in our part of the country, present them; and, 
like brave men, as they are, and honorable men, as 
they are, they will, without any purchase, with- 
out any price, perform their constitutional obli- 
gations; but, sir, when you say to us tliat before 
entering into our own household — the household 
at the other end of this avenue, it being ours by 
the Constitution and the laws — we shall give 
security that we will not violate the Constitution, 
1 spurn it; and a proud people anywhere would 
spurn any such miserable surrender for any pur- 
pose whatever. The people of tl>e Northwest 
will never consent to the idea of a southern con- 
federacy to take possession of the mouih of the 
i Mississippi river. Already the madmen of the 
j State bearing the name of that noble river have 
i planted their batteries upon its banks, to exercise 
! a control over the navigation of that great medi- 
j terranean highway. This act of itself will lead to 
i war. Itiswar. The bold, hardy, and determined 
[ millions of the mighty West, stand ready to-day 
I to maintain the free navigation of that river, if to 
' secure it they will be obliged to desolate its banks 
I from the mouth of the Ohio to the Gulf of Mex- 
: ico. Much has been said in this Chamber, and 
' out of it, against coercion and civil war. I am 
' well aware that there are at the South a nibble 
; army of true and faithful friends of the Constitu- 
[ tion, who are (jutting forth all their eflorts to save 
1 the Union from destruction, and to avert the hor- 
rors of civil war. I ain prepared to join hands 
1 with the friends of our common country to avert 
i so fearful a calamity. To accomplish this high 
I end, I will yield much that under other circum- 
] stances I would not surrender. I sincerely hope 
: and pray that we may recover from this revolu- 
I tion, without bringing war, with all its attendant 
j horrors, upon us. But if war must come, I have 
1 an abiding faith that the flag of the Union — the oid 
flag — will in the future, as it did in the past, wave 
! in glory and in triumph over the vanguard of .i 
; victorious American Army. 
,1 '. .•. . 



